Content Is King

“Years ago we used to just call that communications,” said Jon Newman of the The Hodges Partnership. He was speaking to a group of PR practitioners about how content is king.

He challenged the audience to consider several questions, including:

How are we going to spread out the content?

How are we going to manage it?

Where are audiences getting the content?

What is competing for their attention?

Newman cited one study that said 90 percent of information comes from screens, whether it’s a computer, tablet or smartphone. People spend 4.4 hours of leisure time in front of screens.

“Think about what that means for your content,” he said.

One of the challenges for many is that with all the screens, more content is needed. Jon challenges that notion and suggests that most of us actually have more content than we realize. His recommendation is to conduct a content audit. One way to track is to use an editorial calendar. At least 20 percent of your content should be original and the rest can be from other sources. “Then it doesn’t look like you’re simply selling or pushing your content,” he says.

Once you know your sources of content and you know that people are using more screens, think about how you deliver the content. It’s okay to repeat content on different platforms because someone who follows you on Twitter may not read your blog. Sharing content visually is important, too, especially on screens. Most importantly, content must break through the clutter – quality counts.